Trouble sleeping long enough

LegacyUser

I'm going to assume there are many others in this situation and hopefully this might help them also.

I'm in full time employment and undertaking a part-time masters for which I'm currently writing a dissertation (attempting to that is). Since Covid hit I've generally struggled making college progress after working hours, 9-6 at the pc at home typically made me feel nauseous and I certainly didn't want to sit at the pc for any longer. To combat this I started getting up earlier in the morning to do an hour or so before work, I don't think this is the issue but I mention it just in case.

More recently I've noticed I'm getting worse and worse at sleeping, we typically go to bed around 10pm and I would guess I'm asleep by 11pm or so after some chit chat with my partner. This morning I woke at 4am, which is typical enough (I don't always check the time and no clock in the room) and it happens quite frequently that I lie awake for what seems to be a long time before the alarm goes off at 6am.

I don't mind getting up early, what is starting to bother/worry me is that I don't feel like I've slept most nights or that I've been lying awake in bed for hours before the alarm. I'm afraid how this might have an impact long term, I want to just go to bed, rest and be woken by my alarm.

Health wise, we eat well, I don't eat late at night or have snacks, I don't drink tea/coffee and stay away from sugary drinks especially in the evening. Maybe Covid has me a little on edge? My work has been going steady and we're still busy as ever. One thing I can think of is lack of exercise, I used to commute by bike to work which I no longer do (we go for a walk in the morning) - I think this is also partially the reason I used to be able to work in the evenings as I got a proper break between work and college.

Anyone in a position to comment and advice on where to start figuring this one out so I can get the recommended 7-9hrs of sleep?

Hannibal_Smith

I was going to ask whether you exercise. It must be hard for people to shut off when working from home. What about at 6, when you finish, go for a cycle walk or run then?

LegacyUser

I think it's a real problem, I used to do around 8k steps daily (=/- 1000) through lunch time walks, walks around the office, walking part of the way to/from home.

We do a lap around the block in the morning after work which equates to about 20-25mins walking, 2500-3000 steps. I mention steps as this is on metric I can see a large reduction (I don't necessarily count but have been keeping an eye on ballpark figures).

I haven't considered doing anything at 6am, the sole reason for being up so early was because it's the only time I can do college work. I dont think I would get work done otherwise, I tried getting up at 6:30 and 7am but it's just not enough time to make meaningful progress. I find it to hard to do college work in the evening as I'm tired or at times I work late at which point I just start feeling nauseous looking at the screen.

global23214124

You could try https://www.sleepio.com/work/nhs/#/improve-sleep?_k=0lbf2y. 6 week personal sleep plan to increase sleep efficiency made by the NHS. I can't advocate for it as I haven't gone through it yet but I've heard its good.

iamwhoiam

One thing maybe to change . When you wake at 4 or whatever time it is then I suggest you actually look at a watch and see what time it is
It is possible that when you wake you are not sure if you are near the time to get up and your body won’t settle .
I have to get up at 7:30 for example , if I wake before that I check the time and make sure its worth my while going back to sleep
So if i wake at 5 am I think oh that’s ok I can turn over for two hours and sleep
If I don’t look at a time my mind frets that it might be 7:10 or 6:50 and my alarm is going to go off just as I doze off

Does that make any sense to you ? ! It does to me !!

Are you actually tired during the day? You don't say.
I find that I wake up too early if I have a lot on my mind, it's like your brain won't shut off properly.
Maybe another walk or cycle when you finish work.
You may be feeling stress in relation to your study, stress will wake you up early.

spaceHopper

Get Blood tests I used to have very disturbed sleep pattern and wake up dog tired, wake up in the middle of the night... turned out I had to much iron in my blood. Got blood tests and showed up.

HildaOgdenx

It can be a vicious circle, when you can't sleep, you worry about it, then that keeps you awake, and round and round the circle goes.

Different things work for different people. Have a look at the attached in relation to sleep hygiene. Some of the ideas might be helpful to you.

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/sleep-hygiene

LegacyUser

Thanks for the replies all, I'll look into the links throughout the day. To answer some of the questions;

I try not to look at the time as it then stresses me out, as HildaOgdenx mentions it's a vicious circle, you wake up early and then you start to worry about the lack of sleep and how it will impact you throughout the day. I'll try checking the time for the next couple of weeks or so and see does that help me at all to fall back asleep.

I feel tired right now (0645) after getting up at 6am, generally I do feel tired during the day but more so towards the later end of the day, this may also be thyroid related. I know on Saturdays I've had days where I feel like I've no energy, I can't really let it slip to much during work and have it impact my performance. Yes, I probably do have a lot on my mind with college work and what ever is going on in work that week. I'm going to try do a workout this evening and see how I sleep.

I regularly get bloods done for my thyroid, my iron has been high in the past. I can contact my GP and ask them about it.

Will check out the links, thanks.

spaceHopper

SleeeepyJoeeee wrote: »

I regularly get bloods done for my thyroid, my iron has been high in the past. I can contact my GP and ask them about it.

Will check out the links, thanks.

Check if the GP's has a nurser that does bloods, mine charges 30 euros, get everything checked including a fasting iron panel. Then book an appointment to talk to your GP, if you get the bloods done first you save one visit.


I've this https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/what-is-hemochromatosis#:~:text=Hemochromatosis%20is%20a%20disorder%20where,to%20get%20rid%20of%20it.

Chronic tiredness, sore hands lots of other stuff are all part of it. It's simple to treat if it's caught in time.

ILoveYourVibes

Get some natural light exposure during the day. I mean go outside.

And then sit near a window ...when you work.

It is supposed to mess up your body clock to not get natural light.

I was doing a college course ...where we went into a dark room with zero windows....messed up my body clock no end.